The One Who Cried Home
by dustyismahomeboy
Summary: Max, a 15 year old boy who's only real hobby is video games, gets sent into the cartoon world by an unimaginable way that no one seems to understand. Can he find a way home or will it come back to him naturally? And can he stay? WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
1. Chapter 1

I know I have so many other stories to complete but I just can't get this one out of my head, so enjoy a little Gravity Falls story that may or may not have been thought of already!

I own no one in this story but Max. I also don't own Converse shoes.

* * *

 **Introduction**

My name is Max Jones. Well, Maximilian, but I don't like my full name very much. I wear an orange long sleeved shirt with brown stripes and blue jeans. I have light brown hair and I also like to wear my favorite red Converse. I'm here to tell a story even I can't explain well but I'll try. It all started when I was heading off to school in Aurora, Illinois. I loved mornings, mostly because they were so cool, especially at this time of year, during fall. I had everything in my black and green backpack and left my house. I guess I could say I live a pretty normal and fair life. I'm an only child, and I have normal household chores to do with an allowance. I've been living happily with my parents and honestly, starting high school wasn't really a problem for me. I can be a bit shy, but I seem to warm up over time. I was actually pretty excited to have a little more freedom than usual.

Sorry, I got a little carried away there. Anyways, everything changed when I headed for the road to cross. I looked both ways and began to cross. Apparently, this drunk dude came along and, yeah. The last thing I remember were the headlights of his truck flashing before my eyes. A scream had escaped my mouth, then, nothing. Things went pitch black. I don't remember much, but I do know it happened so fast I don't even remember feeling any pain. Of course, this lead into my story here. Enjoy.

* * *

I awoke with immense pain in my head. My eyesight was blurry, and that made me confused at first, because i've never needed glasses. I found myself to be laying down and I sat up, only to feel more pain and pressure in my head. I held the back of my head as I stumbled to my feet. I tried to blink away the fuzziness and noticed I was surrounded by trees. Kinda weird for a city boy who was just crossed a paved road a few seconds ago, right? Well, I forgot what had happened and that made me even more scared. I rubbed my eyes on my sleeve and took shaky steps forwards, trying to balance myself through the blurry and dizziness. But to no avail. I once more blacked out and fell to the ground.

I came to but had no energy to open my eyes right away. I felt warm, and I was in something soft. I let out a small groan after feeling my headache come back. I then could hear distant footsteps on what sounded like wood.

"I think he's waking up." a voice said. It was a boy.

"He's cute!" another voice said, but in a whisper. It was a girl.

"Mabel, now's not the time." The other voice said.

I let out another groan as I felt more pain come back to me in the back of my head.

"Hey, man, take it easy. You're fine." said the male voice.

I didn't dare try to open my eyes. I still felt exhausted and I didn't want to meet these people just yet. I wasn't ready and a bit scared.

"Kids! Leave 'im alone and come down here!" an older, gruff voice called.

"Comin'!" The male voice called back and I heard the footsteps move away. "He was trying to wake up!"

I needed more rest. I fell asleep again without realizing. I heard nothing more.

* * *

Sorry it's pretty short, but I also gotta get working on the plot for HSP 2! I guess this was a pretty good start for an intro to the story.


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah, HSP 2 will be delayed for a bit. The original plot I had for it seems kinda, lame now. So I'm trying to think up a new one. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

* * *

I woke up again, this time I was able to open my eyes. I looked around and it was dark. My head hurt but not as much as before. I slowly sat up and everything was clearer. I was laying in a bed and another bed was to the left of me on the other side of the room. Someone was sleeping in it. Another person slept in a sleeping bag in the middle of the two beds. I didn't like this place. It felt almost wrong to me. I quietly got out of the bed and grabbed my backpack. I put it on as I quietly walked out of the room. But before I was able to leave the room, I noticed a book laying open on the floor in the moonlight. It was near the sleeping person on the floor. The words that stood out to me were 'Trust no one', in all capital letters. That scared me even more. Trust no one? I hurried down a set of stairs quietly and froze when I saw a dim light on in the room from across me. A man in a trench coat sat at a table with his back to me. He looked to be writing something. I made my way quietly to the exit by the stairs. He didn't seem to hear. I grabbed the doorknob and heard the door squeak as I began to open it. I knew I had to, at that moment, just run. I quickly opened the door and fled. I sprinted into the woods, not looking back. At that moment, I had no idea where I was going but I couldn't go back now. I ran farther and farther into the woods, trying to find a dirt path or something I could follow. Anything. I jumped over a log and my foot must've gotten caught on it because I found myself face first into the ground. My ankle stung with pain and I quickly sat up to hold it. It wasn't broken but it hurt terribly. I saw the bottom of my jeans turn a darker color and I quickly dug through my backpack to find something to wrap around it. I used my gym shorts that I had washed previously to wrap around it and I found a bendable ruler to wrap around my leg to help stop the bleeding. I scooted backwards and leaned on a tree.

I realized then just how big of a mistake I made. If I wouldn't have been so shy and terrified and just stayed in that bed until morning I wouldn't have been in this situation. Everything happened so fast. I just wanted to go home. I didn't know how I was going to explain to those people why I left in such a hurry, but what I did know was that I was exhausted. I felt no pain in my head but I knew that doesn't mean I wouldn't experience it again. I hugged my knees close to my chest and squeezed the ruler to try and numb myself from the pain. I rested my forehead on my knees and tried to think of a way to get out of this mess. That was until I heard rustling in the bushes near me. I looked up quickly and let out a gasp.

"We can help you for a favor in return." A voice whispered, making me jump.

"W-what..?" I whispered back. A small shadow came out from the darkness. It's head was pointy and I saw stubby arms and legs.

"Who are you?" I asked, my heart beating fast.

"My name is Jeff. We can help you for a favor in return."

"O-okay.."

Two more shadows just like Jeff appeared from the bush and surrounded my leg. They took off the ruler and my gym shorts and wrapped my ankle with a very stiff-like cloth or something.

"Stand up and we'll take you to our home." Jeff said. I was unsure of all this but I stood up slowly anyways. I limped and followed the small creatures to where they had to lead me. The sun had begun to rise and I could see a little easier now that they lead me out from the closure of the trees. The little creatures became clearer too. They wore red hats, and most had long beards and mustaches. I was confused. They looked like lawn Gnomes, which, confused me. More or less, they were hilarious by the way they all acted in the place they took me. Some were scampering around on all fours and others were just kinda standing there, watching me.

"Everyone, behold our new Queen!" Jeff called out to them all, and they started to cheer.

I was dumbfounded. "Whoa, wait, Queen?!"

"Yes! We helped you, our majesty, with your scraped up leg, now you can help us be our Queen forever!"

"Wait a second! I'm a dude!" I cried out. "I'm not a girl!"

"You look like one though." Jeff said. "You were a scardy cat either way earlier."

"Okay, thanks, but no thanks. I'm gonna leave now." I turned to limp away when Jeff jumped on my backpack. He growled in a, Gnome-like way I guess.

"Whoa!" I said, startled.

"Where do you think you're going? We helped you, you help us! Find us a Queen!" More Gnomes started to crowd around me.

"But, I-I don't know any-"

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, like a motor off in the distance. Coming closer.

* * *

I bet you know what that motor is.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the long wait. School and homework has really been in my way for the past few days. But I got a lot written up! Enjoy!

* * *

It didn't sound like a regular car though. The gnomes began to grab onto my jeans and start to climb on me.

"No! Get off!" I cried out and stumbled over my injured leg.

"Leave him alone!" I heard a voice yell out. It was a girls voice. A golf cart drove up over a small hill in between trees. A boy and girl rode in it.

"Help!" I cried out again. A gnome jumped on my backpack.

"I'll save you!" The girl practically screamed and jumped out of the cart with a leaf blower. She wore a pink sweater and headband, a purple skirt, black shoes, and had brown hair.

"You again!" Jeff cried out.

She turned on the leaf blower and pointed the tube at all the gnomes. They began to scurry off in fear as she started to blow them away. The boy wore a blue and white hat with a blue pine tree on it, a red t-shirt, dark blue vest,grey shorts, and black sneakers. He jumped out of the cart and ran towards me. He grabbed my hand.

"C'mon, hurry! Let's get outta here!" He ran and led me back to the cart. I struggled to keep up with my wound. He was incredibly shorter than I was.

"C'mon, Mabel!" He yelled out, getting back into the cart. The girl, Mabel, turned off the leafblower and ran back to the cart, getting into the front by the boy. He gunned it and headed off. The sudden take off brought more pain to my ankle. I winced slightly.

"Are you okay back there?" The boy asked, yelling over the wind and the carts' motor.

"Uh, partially?" I replied. Mabel looked back and saw the dark stain at the bottom of my jeans.

"We need to hurry!" She said and noticed the gnomes chasing after.

"This is just like our first day here!" The boy groaned.

"Turn down that upcoming path!" Mabel pointed ahead and pulled up a large rocket from by her feet. She lit it with a match and stood up, pointed it behind the cart, and fired it off. It flew up in all directions before blowing up, fireworks spreading across the ground and sky.

"Yes!" She cheered and they high-fived before the boy turned down the desired path.

As they celebrated, I was frozen in fear. The sparks of that rocket spread out so much they were close to lighting my hair on fire! I didn't understand these two kids and how their fun included illegal fireworks and high speeding in golf carts.

The boy skidded to a stop right back at the place where I ran from earlier. A rough looking cabin in the woods by the name of the Mystery Shack, but the 's' in 'shack' had fallen on the roof. Once stopped, Mabel jumped out and helped me out. I tried not to show that I was shaking, mostly from the pain than the ride.

"He's hurt, Dipper, and pretty badly too." She said, looking at my leg. The boy, Dipper, hurried around the cart to see.

"Let's get him inside." He said. "We have lots of bandages." The both helped me inside the shack and sat me down in a yellow chair in front of a T.V. Dipper ran off somewhere but Mabel stayed. She carefully rolled up my pant leg and grimaced at the sight of my wound. It was all puffy and dried blood was coated around it.

"How did this happen?" She asked.

"I-I tripped over a log or something and must've cut myself." I replied shakily.

"Oh, don't worry. My bro-bro will be back in a minute." She quickly got up, fetched a cloth, wet it down, and gently dabbed at my wound in an attempt to clean it up.

"Oh, by the way, my name's Max." I said.

"I'm Mabel, and my brother is Dipper." Mabel said and smiled, her braces showing.

"Hi, Mabel. I gotta say, that was some introduction back there, huh?" I smiled nervously.

"I guess. Why'd you run off? We were so worried! Well, I was mostly." She giggled softly.

"You guys, were worried about me?" I asked, remembering what the book said that I had seen earlier.

"Of course we were Great uncle Ford said he heard someone run out the door but didn't know who."

"Who's 'great uncle Ford'?" I asked, and, almost as if I summoned him, the same man I saw at the table entered the room from the hallway.

"I am. You okay, kid?" He asked. He had grey hair with a silver streak on the side, glasses, and a grey chin of what looked like a short beard. He wore a red sweater underneath a tan coat, and wore black pants with muddy boots.

"Uh, yeah, I'm okay I guess." I answered, sort of nervous from all this attention I was getting by these strangers. Soon, Dipper came back in with a roll of bandages and tape. He wrapped up my wound tightly and taped it on. "There, all done." He said. "How'd that happen?"

"He tripped over a log." Mabel said simply. "It's a good thing it's not infected. Great uncle Ford, or, Ford, said. "Who knows what ut could've gotten infected with."

"So, where are ya from?" Dipper asked me. "We found you in the woods and brought you back. You were out for days!"

"'Days'?" I repeated. That didn't sound good to me. Mostly because I've never been knocked out like that. "I'm from Illinois. and, everything here is definately not what I'm used to." I noticed just then that everything looked sorta, plain. Things lacked depth to me, even my own hand.

"Interesting. Are you from another dimension?" Ford asked.

"Dimension?"

"Yes, there's an infinity number of dimensions."

"I don't know, I don't even remember how I got here." I replied.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that because Dr. Waddles is on the case!" Mabel exclaimed happily. She held up a fat pig dressed in a doctor's suit.

"'Dr. Waddles'?" I asked.

"Yep! And Dr. Waddles says..." She listened to him oink and gurgle. "He says you're feeling sad.."

Was this pig magical at reading thoughts or emotions? Or could Mabel tell that I was sad? Either way, I wasn't sure how to respond. I was sad. I was homesick to be honest. But for some reason I didn't want to tell them this.

"That's okay if you're feeling sad. Waddles can cheer you up!" She carried the pig and put him on my lap. He began to lick my face almost like a dog would, but messier. I laughed, trying to keep him away. I noticed Mabel smile out of the corner of my eye. She seemed happy to make me happy.

That night, after a dinner full of mostly talk of dimensions, Ford agreed to help me get back to my own dimension, mostly because he seemed to enjoy working with science and things like that. Dipper gave me his bed and he slept in another room with someone by the name of Seuss I think. Mabel slept up in the attic with me for 'company', as she states it. Something told me she was incredibly fond of me. I didn't really like to make friends with people if I was only gong to see them for a small amount of time. but who knows how long it would take before I get back to my own dimension.

I lay in my bed, too much going through my mind at once, and not being able to sleep. I wasn't sure if Mabel was asleep yet or not, but I was dying to ask her a question.

"Mabel?" I called out in a soft whisper. She rustled and sat up.

"Yeah?" She replied in the same tone.

"How, how did you know I was feeling sad earlier today?" I looked over at her.

"I dunno, I could just tell I guess." She said. "But don't worry. The more time you spend with us, the more happier you'll be! Promise." She smiled and I returned a small smile. "goodnight, Maxy." She laid back down.

"Good night." I had to laugh a little at the nickname she gave me. No one has ever called me 'Maxy' before. I fell asleep before I knew it.

* * *

That night I had the most weirdest dream ever. Everything was black and white, and fuzzy. almost like static. I was in the Shack, in the attic, but no one else was around. I walked around and every step I took, the room around me became even more fuzzier, but then cleared partially again.

"What is going on?" I asked myself. Everything seemed so real, except for the terrible quality.

"YOU'RE IN THE MINDSCAPE, KID." A voice echoed from what seemed like all around me. I whirled around trying to pinpoint where it was.

"Who are you? Where, are you?" I asked again.

"RIGHT BEHIND YA!"

* * *

Yay, a longer chapter than usual! I'm pretty sure everyone knows who this guy is, but I had to stop at a cliffhanger somewhere. I don't know when I'll manage another update with literally, any, of my stories, so if I don't get around to it, Happy Halloween everyone!

Sorry for any mistakes, I am like ,way beyond tired right now. :T


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long wait guys. School has been bothersome but I finally got a little more written up. Enjoy!

* * *

I turned around, but saw nothing. I was getting freaked out.

"I'm not joking here!"

"IT'S HARD TO SAY OTHER THAN I'M EVERYWHERE." The voice got deeper at the end of the sentence.

I shivered. The voice sounded so strange. It echoed all around me.

I glanced around some more until I saw an eye peering down at me from the ceiling. A bright light glowed and I shielded my eyes. When it faded, I looked ahead again and I saw a strange sight. A yellow triangle with a black bow tie and hat and only one eye floated there and stared at me. I gasped and took a step back.

"HEY KID, NO NEED TO BE SCARED OF ME!" The triangle said, glowing at every word.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"NAME'S BILL CIPHER. AND YOU'RE MAX, RIGHT?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"LIKE I SAID BEFORE, MAX, I'M EVERYWHERE. LITERALLY!" He multiplied himself, and suddenly I was surrounded by identicals. I shuddered.

"So, why are you here?" I asked, unsure of this Bill.

Bill's identicals disappeared leaving the real thing next to me. He draped one of his limp black arms around my neck.

"I'VE BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU," There was his low voice again. "AND I'VE NOTICED YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TOO HAPPY LATELY."

"How can you tell?"

I JUST KNOW, KID. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME."

"Okay..."

"I'VE NOTICED YOU AREN'T WHERE YOU BELONG. YOU AREN'T AT YOUR ON HOME. IS THAT RIGHT?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I CAN HELP YOU, MAX, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS I NEED TO KNOW BEFORE I CAN. WHICH CAN BE DISCUSSED TOMORROW." He said, looking over at a digital clock on the nightstand. "IT LOOKS AS IF MORNING WILL COME SOON. I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW." He held out his small hand and I shook it. He disappeared and so did the black and white color when I woke, sitting up in bed. It was still dark out and Mabel was still asleep. I laid back down, wondering if Bill was real or just a dream. I decided to get some more sleep until the sun came up.

The next morning, I woke up to the sun on my face and slowly sat up. Mabel was quietly coloring something on her bed when she noticed me awake.

"Good morning!" She smiled happily, taping her picture to the wall by her bed.

"Morning." I said, fixing up my hair a bit.

"Grunkle Stan's making pancakes for us, too." Mabel said, putting away her colored pencils and crayons.

"Sounds good to me." I smiled and carefully swung my legs over the side of the bed.

"How's your leg?" she asked.

"I don't feel much pain right now, but that might be because of the ointment." I replied.

"Yeah. Hey, I wonder if Ford got any closer to your dimension biz!" I nodded and followed her out of the room after putting on my backpack. She walked with me as I limped until we got down to the kitchen.

"Hey, mornin' kiddo. Just in time." Stan said as he flipped a pancake in the pan. I only smiled, still feeling a little shy. Dipper was sitting at the table looking through a red journal with Ford. Ford had two other journals that he looked through. A mess of papers were scattered around them.

"Good morning, you two." Ford said. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good I guess." I said. I sat down at the table next to Mabel.

"I'm going to need you to tell me a little bit about your dimension. What happens during it?" Ford asked.

"Well, uh, things happen the same here I guess. The seasons change, people go to work, pay with money, and all that. I guess the only difference is that everyone here lacks like, detail, or something. People where I live look a lot different than here."

"Hmm, I don't think I've been to one like that before." Ford flipped through the pages. "This could be difficult."

"The only thing that will be difficult is your ability to eat with this mess here." Stan said, coming over to the table with a plate of pancakes. Mabel stifled a laugh while Dipper and Ford both gathered up the papers.

"Alright. We'll continue this later." Ford said, putting some papers into the place he stopped at in his journal. Mabel passed around the pancakes as everyone took one, including me.

* * *

After breakfast, Dipper and Mabel both showed me around the house, or, cabin, or whatever you wanted to call it. Half of the place was a gift shop, and half was a regular home. I was shown some things in the gift shop, and honestly, I don't know why or how Stan made so much money off that place. I also got to know the two employees there a little better as well. The one I thought was called Seuss, was actually Soos, and he seemed pretty cool. then there was a cashier by the name of Wendy, and she seemed pretty laid back and chill, sorta like my friend, Jax, back home. She was a lumberjack and apparently Dipper liked her a lot, from what Mabel told me.

* * *

The day went pretty slow, mostly because I was still injured onto healing. The twins and I watched the sunset for the time being before heading back to the shack. It was a lot prettier than back home. Mabel wanted to know all about my dimension and my lifestyle, so I explained as much as I could about myself as we leaned against a tree. She seemed pretty interested about it all and weaved a flower crown absentmindedly as she asked questions. It soon began to get cooler out as Mabel placed a daisy crown on my head and one on hers. I couldn't help but smile. She was one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She was so outgoing and happy. She tried to give Dipper one but he refused. I told Mabel she'd get him to wear one one day, especially with my help. Mabel laughed and agreed, and scooted a little closer to me. I could tell she liked me. It was weird, considering how young she was, but, honestly I didn't mind. I wasn't like that guy to push away someone like that.

* * *

"Let's start heading back." Dipper said. "It's getting dark."

"Okay." I agreed, and stood up, hanging onto the tree so I wouldn't stumble.

"I should knit you a sweater." I heard Mabel whisper as we neared the shack.

"Mabel, I don't think he needs a sweater." Dipper whispered back.

I smiled again. These twins were fun to hang out with, I admit. I usually don't hang out with people who are sufficiently younger than I am but these twins were all I had at the moment.

Back at the shack, Mabel and I went up to the attic to get ready for bed. Mabel changed into her PJs and went straight to knitting on her bed. I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering if Bill would enter my dream again. I almost didn't want him to, but I was desperate to get home.

Little did I know, Bill would change my life.

* * *

Ah, 2:30 in the morning, and I'm dead. So tired, but my brain told me to type this up, so thank my brain. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far!


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for such the long wait! I probably won't be doing much over the weekend so I'll update as much as I can on stories I left off at.

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Like I had predicted, Bill appeared in my dream last night.

"LET'S CONTINUE WHERE WE LEFT OFF, HUH?" Bill said.

"Okay, what did you need to know?" I was kinda nervous for what he wanted to know about me.

"DON'T WORRY, KID. THEY'RE SMALL THINGS. YOUR LIFESTYLE, A FRIEND OR TWO, WHERE YOU LIVE, ETCETERA."

I wasn't sure how much I could trust him, but I could use all the help I could get. I described my life back home. My best friend, Jax, my hobby of video games, where I live in Illinois, and how Jax was teaching me how to skateboard.

"AH, THIS'LL BE VERY SIMPLE THEN. OF COURSE, I CAN'T BEGIN NOW. I NEED SUPPLIES. BUT, THERE'S NO NEED TO RUSH. BY THE TIME YOU GET BACK HOME, NO TIME WILL HAVE PASSED AT ALL."

"Really?"

"REALLY KID. DO YOU TRUST ME?"

I thought for a second. "I trust you."

"I WON'T LET YOU DOWN, MAX."

That's when I woke up. This time, it wasn't dark out, and Mabel was gone. I sat up and got out of bed. My wound didn't hurt as much now. I went to the bathroom to change the bandage with a fresh one and headed downstairs. Once I walking into the living room, I was greeted by Mabel wrapping a tape measure around my waist. I stumbled back and froze, her arms wrapping around my waist like a hug.

"It's for your sweater!" She replied to my confusion as she hurried back to the middle of the floor to continue to knit. Dipper was in the chair and mouthed the word, 'sorry' to me and I only smiled.

* * *

Since then, every night, Bill has arrived in my dreams. I got to know a little bit more about him. Not a lot though. He told me he was old, very old, and that he could visit a lot of people in their dreams.

"ALSO, I'VE NOTICED YOU ARE WITH THE PINES FAMILY, HMM?" He asked, floating beside me as we wandered through the woods during my dream.

"Yeah, they're really nice to me."I said.

"NICE?" Bill questioned. "THEY MAY SEEM NICE BUT BE CAREFUL, MAX. THEY ARE THE ONES KEEPING ME HERE."

I was confused. "What? How?"

"STANFORD STOLE SOMETHING FROM ME. IT IS VERY POWERFUL AND THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY I CAN GET IT. BUT I'LL NEED HELP."

"From who? Me?"

"YES! I CAN BRING YOU BACK TO YOUR DIMENSION, OH FOR SURE! EASY AS A WALK IN A PARK. BUT IN RETURN, I NEED YOU TO BRING ME THAT ITEM."

"What is it?"

"IT'S CALLED A RIFT. TAKE IT FROM STANFORD, GIVE IT TO ME, AND I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR DIMENSION. FORD WON'T EVEN KNOW IT'S GONE, AND HE WON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF BRINGING YOU BACK. I CAN!"

"I thought for a second. It sounded good, and I really wanted to go home. Bill held out his hand, and a blue flame emerged from it.

"DO WE HAVE A DEAL?"

"Yeah." I shook his hand, bracing myself for the fire to hurt, but, it didn't. Bill seemed happy.

"GOOD! BRING ME THE RIFT AND YOU'LL BE HOME AGAIN! BUT BE CAREFUL OF THE PINES. THEY CAN AND WILL GO AGAINST YOU." He snapped his fingers and I jolted up in bed. This time, I was covered in a cold sweat and I gasped for air. Mabel was by my side at an instant. It was still dark out.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, just- just a bad dream. nothing to worry about." I half-smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go back to sleep. I'm fine."

Mabel nodded silently and went back to her bed. I laid back down. they did seem nice, but I kept at the back of my mind what bill had said about them. I had to be careful.

The next morning, i had a casual chat with Dipper, asking about Ford and where he did his work. He told me he was usually in the basement. All through the day, I secretly looked behind doors in search for the basement. I found nothing. suddenly, a paper airplane hit the back of my head as I walked through the hall. I picked it up and on it in blue lettering was, "THE VENDING MACHINE HAS ALL THE ANSWERS!". Vending machine. The only one i knew about in the shack was the one in the shop.

I headed there and opened the employee's only door. The vending machine was right next to me. my heart began to pound. Bill told me I couldn't trust the Pines family so I couldn't let them see me. Thank goodness the shop was closed at the moment. Everyone was outside, goofing off. Right at the moment I opened the door, another opened next to me and I jumped back. Ford walked out of a space behind the vending machine, not seeing me at all. He began to walk to the shop entrance and pushed a button on his watch. The door began to close. I quickly slipped in behind the door and it closed and locked behind me.

The space was dark except for a dim light not too far off. I went down the stairs and came upon a large room with computers and stuff everywhere. I began to look for the rift, not knowing what it looked like but hoping it would stand out. I felt my heart beat get faster and it pounded in my chest. _I had to hurry._ I opened desk drawers and a cabinet, until I saw blue lettering again written on a wooden desk. Arrows pointed at a little space between the top of the desk and the bottom. I grabbed the small knob I had missed and slid the secret drawer aside. inside was a snow globe type of thing with a black substance floating around in it. I reached out to grab it until I heard a voice call my name. I jerked back and saw Ford standing there.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked, coming a little closer. I stepped back a bit.

"I just, just wanted to..." I stuttered, trying to find the right words.

"It's dangerous down here, especially when you don't know anything about this town."

"I-I'm sorry," I tried to think of a way to stay. "I, I just wanted to try and help you to get me home."

"Oh, that's alright, you don't need to help, I'm fine. Now run along." He stepped out of the way of the entrance and I walked passed him. I noticed more blue lettering on the wall.

"QUICKLY GRAB THE RIFT OR I WILL!"

I hesitated. If I tried to grab it, Ford would would definitely be able to catch and stop me. I was about to go forwards again until everything became fuzzy. I didn't feel like myself anymore. In a flash, I found myself floating, and my body on the ground. I was confused until my bodys' eyes opened, but they weren't mine anymore.

* * *

OOOHOHH CLIFFHA NGEE R R

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Haha, just kidding. You guys don't deserve this. Here's a bit more.

* * *

Bill.

"W-what?" I gasped. My voice echoed around me.

Bill, in my body, stood up shakily. "YOU FAILED ME MAX!" He said. "NOW I WILL GET IT MYSELF!"

Thankfully, Ford turned around, hearing Bill yell and he was able to catch his sqirming body, or mine.

"Oh no.." Ford gasped.

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NOW it's really the end. At least the end of this chapter. I have a poll up at the moment for an idea with Khalon and Andrew so check it out!


	6. Chapter 6

So sorry I haven't updated in a long time. Been busy. Also, I'm working on a comic right now and my friend got me into writing out the comic too for those who aren't following on tumblr or DA. So you guys can read it too.

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"HEY SIXER!" Bill greeted. "HOW'VE YA BEEN?"

"Don't change the subject, Bill!" Ford said. "Get out of Max's body now or I will force you to!"

"GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, BUDDY!" Bill said. "JUST HAND OVER THE RIFT AND IT'LL BE ALL OVER!"

"Never!" Ford reached a free hand towards a gun like weapon I have never seen before. He pointed the nose at my, or Bill's, head.

"W-wa-" I stuttered before getting interrupted.

"Ford, what on Earth are you doing?" a gruff voice yelled out. Stan had come down the stairs to the basement.

"Bill has possessed Max! I must get rid of him!" Ford said.

"So you're gonna kill Max too?" Stan yelled. "Don't you dare pull that trigger!"

In all the commotion, Bill bit Ford's hand and escaped the presence of the gun. Ford had dropped it.

Stan lunged forwards and snatched Bill's, or my, arm.

"I'm gonna lock this thing up so he can't get away." he stated.

"Be careful, Stanley. He's dangerous!" Ford said and followed him upstairs. I was left alone then. I floated up through the ceiling and saw Stan locking Bill up in a cage that looked to once hold a dangerous creature, in the gift shop.

"YOU CAN NEVER STOP ME!" Bill shrieked. "I WILL MAKE THIS KID STARVE TO DEATH!" I gasped. Ford and Stan exchanged glances.

"Don't let the kids near him." Ford said sternly.

"What are you gonna do then?" Stan asked Ford.

"I'm gonna try and connect with Max and get Bill out of his body." Ford replied and headed back down to the basement. Stan went back outside. Bill seemed like the only one who could see me.

"YOU HAD ONE EASY TASK, MAX." he stated. "GET THE RIFT AND BRING IT TO ME. BUT SINCE YOU FAILED AT THE SIMPLE, EVERYTHING ELSE WILL BE A LIVING NIGHTMARE."

I tried to ignore him and floated outside to where the twins were goofing off and Stan was sitting on a couch on the porch. Stan sighed. "Kids, c'mere a sec." he called. Dipper and Mabel stopped playing with the water balloons and ran over to him.

"Yeah, Grunckle Stan?" Mabel asked.

"Because of reasons I'm gonna have to close the shack for a while. You two are not allowed in the gift shop. It's uh, dangerous in there. Alright?"

"Yeah, but what happened?" Dipper asked.

"Um, one, one of Ford's dumb experiments went wrong. It's not safe in there. From now on, don't use the front door, use the side."

"Okay, we'll stay out." Mabel said, hitting Dipper's back with a balloon that she hid.

"You're gonna get it now!" Dipper laughed and ran after Mabel.

I wished someone could see me. As the day went on, I became lonelier and lonelier. I watched Ford work on trying to contact me but that got boring fast. The twins asked where I was and Stan said I was in the basement with Ford helping him and they were not to be disturbed. I avoided Bill as much as I could during the day.

During suppertime, Ford grabbed two plates of food.

"Max can't eat up here right now, uh, we're both very busy." Ford stated and hurried back down in the basement. I could tell the twins looked confused but decided to just go with it. The employee's only door was blocked by a chair and only moved for Ford. The front door had been locked and covered with yellow police tape Ford had in the basement.

I tried to sleep last night but couldn't. Despite not eating or being able to feel anything, I was very tired. The days' activities kept going through my mind, and it was hard to lay down and not keep going through the floor. So I stayed up and wandered around the shack and even went outside. ford had fallen asleep in the basement surrounded by papers and I checked out the room to familiarize myself. I noticed the small cupboard locked up where the rift has been. Books had covered the entrance. I looked over at Ford and the papers around him. I looked at them and noticed a red book lay open, similar to the books Dipper was reading along with ford one morning. The page was open to a drawing of Bill. I read the information and read that he was a dream demon. I then remembered Bill used to be in the mindscape before he stole my body because he always entered my dreams. I wondered if I could enter ford's dreams too. I wasn't sure how to, but I experimented.

I tried placing my hands on his shoulders and thinking about dreams, but that didn't work. Then I tried actually going inside him, as bad as that sounds, but that didn't work either. I tried to pick up a pencil so I could write with it, but that didn't work at all. The pencil went through my fingers. I thought for a second. Bill was able to write on things in blue lettering. Could I do that as well? I tried dragging a finger on the desk Ford slept at but nothing happened. I was beginning to feel frustrated. I decided to try and get Bill to tell me. And if he didn't, I was stuck. I would have to wait until Ford figured out how to contact me. I floated upstairs and went into the gift shop. There, where Stan and ford left him, was Bill, in my body, in the cage off in a corner. Bill sat in the corner of the cage, scratching at my arms. Once he saw me he smiled.

"READY TO DO WHAT I WANT?" he asked.

I looked at my arms. They were red and looked tender. "What are you doing to my body?" I asked, coming closer but not too close.

"DON'T WORRY, I DIDN'T HURT YOU TOO MUCH." he laughed. "PAIN IS FUNNY!"

I shook my head. "How do you communicate with everyone? How do you write in blue letters?"

"WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU?" Bill stood up.

"Because, because I can't get the rift if you don't tell me." I said. "Everything I grab just goes right through me."

"HMM, FAIR ENOUGH. SHOOTING STAR HAS PUPPETS. HAVE YOU SEEN THEM?"

"I think so, why?"

"PUT YOUR HAND IN A PUPPET, AND YOU CAN USE THE PUPPET TO GRAB THE RIFT. BUT BE QUIET! ONCE YOU USE A PUPPET, EVERY NOISE YOU MAKE WILL BE HEARD."

"Okay, I'll go get it!" I tried to act happy like Bill was still trying to get me home.

I floated upstairs and looked around the attic. Now that I was supposedly sleeping with Ford in the basement, Dipper was back in his own bed. I found a puppet that looked like Mabel in a trashcan and I put it on my hand. then I quietly floated downstairs, having to get the code from Bill.

instead of grabbing the rift I tried to get Ford to wake up.

"Ford, wake up, please!" I called out., but not to loud in case someone else could hear. Ford was startled awake and let out a gasp at the sight of the floating puppet.

"Mabel?" he asked hoarsely, rubbing his face.

"No, it's Max! I tricked Bill into telling me how to communicate with you. He wants the rift!" I said through the puppet.

"Oh, no. I knew that's what he wanted. And he used you to get to it!" Ford stood up. "The only way to force Bill from your body is to make him exhausted, or make him feel bad enough that he has no energy left. The bad thing is, everything we do will happen to you when you go back, but it's the only way."

"Anything to get my body back!" I pleaded.

"Come with me." Ford headed upstairs through the vending machine and I followed, kind of worried on how Bill would react since I didn't get the rift.

"WHAT?" Bill shrieked, standing up. "YOU'LL PAY FOR TRICKING ME, MAX! YOU'LL PAY!"

"Silence!" Ford yelled. "If you don't leave Max's body right now, we'll force you to."

"OH, I'M SO SCARED!" Bill said in a sarcastic tone. "WHAT'RE YA GONNA DO, SIXER? GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW! I BET ANYTHING STRIPEY OVER HERE CAN'T HANDLE IT!"

"I bet I can!" I argued. "I'm tougher than you think!"

"OH, SO THEN YOU WON'T MIND THAT I OPENED YOUR WOUND A LITTLE, WILL YOU?" He rolled up my pants leg nd showed the bloody wound, now a little bigger. This time, instead of a scrape across my ankle, it continued up my calf. I shivered.

"I'M SURPRISED I'M NOT GETTING DIZZY YET! IT'S BEEN BLEEDING FOR A WHILE!" Bill laughed.

"You knock that off!" Ford said. "The worse you act, the worse you are going to get! I know your weakness!"

"OH REALLY? YOU DO NOW? ARE YOU SURE, SIXER? BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE I KNOW STRIPEY'S WEAKNESS! OR IS IT A WEAKNESS FOR EVERY ROTTEN FLESH BAG IN THIS WORLD?" He smiled and reached down, grabbing a small, bloodied knife off the ground.

"What? Where'd you get that?" Ford gasped.

I felt terrified. Bill was now able to kill me with that knife, and I'd never be able to go home.

"PAIN IS SO FUNNY IT CRACKS ME UP!" Bill laughed insanely. "HOW'D YOU THINK I OPENED THE WOUND LIKE THAT WITH CLEAN HANDS?"

"No, please don't!" I pleaded.

"TOO LATE! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO SAVE YOURSELF. AND NOW THE PAYBACK WILL BEGIN NOW!" He took the knife and stabbed himself in the stomach.

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Sorry for such a long wait on all these stories. I for some reason can't find the notebook I had Forgotten Joy in but I'll soon be able to get in another chapter of LAWA. I think I just about finished it. The ending is kinda weird to say now, but ideas kept running out of my head. I still have a lot to plan for the ending of this one so keep an eye out for the next chapter!


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